Dmitri laughs, pulling our attention back to him. He grabs Maddie’s hand, making her laugh. I watch the two of them, lost in the image of her with a baby, already picturing some future family of ours, and when I look up, I see the others staring at me. Nina’s the most obvious with her mouth hanging open, but the shock in the others’ eyes is just as blatant. I roll my eyes at them and tell them in Russian to fuck off.
“What does that mean?” Nina asks. She’s learning Russian, but it’s a difficult language, and evidentlyfuck offisn’t a phrase that she’s gotten around to yet.
Vasily laughs and pulls his wife in for a hug. “Something not very nice,” he tells her. “But don’t worry,zolotse, we’ll be the ones laughing at their wedding. You know, the one he swore he’d never have.”
When Maddie laughs, I stand up and grab her, picking her up as she laughs even harder. “I can’t believe you’re joining in.” Leaning closer so only she can hear, I add, “I think I need to remind you whose team you’re on, baby.”
I set her down, smiling at the look on her face. It’s equal partsyes pleaseandoh fuck. There, that’ll give her something to think about for the next few hours. With a grin playing at my lips, I get the hamburger patties so I can start grilling, leaving Maddie with all kinds of delicious scenarios floating around in that pretty head of hers.
Chapter 13
Maddie
Seeing Volodya around his family is showing me a whole new side of him. Our relationship is unconventional; it’s always going to be. The way we met, the speed at which we fell for one another, the dangerous lifestyle he leads, and the darker side of him that comes out in his work and also in the bedroom—all of it means that nothing about us will ever be normal, and I’m perfectly okay with that. I want him, and I’m going into this with my eyes wide open, because I know he’s worth it. I know I’ll never meet another man like him.
“I still can’t believe what I’m seeing,” Nina says, leaning against the counter next to me and snagging a chip. She’s about my height with eyes so dark they look almost black. She’s quick to smile and laid-back in a way that puts others at ease. I immediately like her.
“I know, right?” Svetlana agrees, grabbing a carrot stick before smothering it in dip. She looks how I always imagine Russian women—tall, blonde, and gorgeous. Her sexy accent just completes the picture. She’s just as down to earth as Nina is, though, and instead of feeling intimidated like I normally would around someone so beautiful, I feel relaxed and like I’ve known them both for way longer than an hour.
I laugh and grab a handful of chips. “He is smiling a lot more,” I admit, looking out onto the veranda where the guys are standing around the grill while the dogs sit next to them, hoping for a bite.
“You mean he’s smiling,” Nina says with a laugh. “Full stop.” She looks behind her at the guys and then gives my arm a soft smack. “Am I seeing things, or is he actually out there holding my son?”
I look over, and the sight of Volodya with a baby in his arms steals my breath. God, I hadn’t thought the man could look any sexier, but I was wrong. This is like eye candy for my ovaries. His large, tattooed arms are wrapped securely around a wiggling Dmitri, and there’s just something about the contrast between brute strength and innocence that’s hard to look away from.
“He loves Dmitri,” Nina says, “but the man’s always looked terrified when holding him. He’s looking a lot more at ease.” She nudges my arm. “Better watch out, Maddie. He’s a man on a mission now.”
I laugh, but my heart is racing and my palms are getting sweaty. Her comment makes me feel like I’m his prey, and I’ve learned very quickly that I really like that. It might be fucked up, but Volodya chasing me is hands down the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced. As if sensing the throb between my legs from twenty feet away, he meets my eyes and gives me a wink. I swear he has some sort of telepathic power with my pussy.
Turning back to Nina and Svetlana before things get really awkward around here, I use my carrot stick to point at Svetlana’s small baby bump. “How far along are you?”
She smiles and rubs her belly. “Almost five months. We just found out we’re having a girl.”
“Congratulations. Is this your first?”
“Yeah, we’re excited. Nervous but excited,” she says with a laugh.
Looking at Nina, I say, “Vasily mentioned that you run the women’s shelter. I drove by it not too long ago, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen one look so inviting.”
She smiles at my compliment. “Thank you. We’ve worked really hard to make it that way. I wanted it to be a safe place for women and children, but I also wanted it to be cheerful. They’ve gone through enough, and they deserve a nice place to live while they get things figured out. We also offer free counseling and help them with job hunting and daycare.”
I listen as she tells me about this amazing place she’s created, feeling my world grow slightly more in favor of the morally grey. Yes, the man I love runs a Bratva with his brothers, and yes they kill people and do all kinds of illegal shit, but they also do a lot of good, and they do live by a moral code. There’s no way in hell any of them would ever just go out into the streets and start shooting at random people. I’m not a naïve person, but I can see the good in these men, even if there is a bit of dark in them as well.
“There’s my sweet baby,” Nina coos when Volodya walks back over with her son. Dmitri gives his mom a big grin, showing off the few baby teeth he has and then practically lunges for her arms, making Volodya laugh and grip him tighter. He kisses the top of his nephew’s head before putting him in Nina’s arms.
“Food’s ready,” he tells us.
“Thank god, I’m starving,” Svetlana says, grabbing a plate and heading straight for her husband and the stack of hamburger patties he’s holding with Nina and Dmitri following along behind.
“So what do you think?” Volodya steps closer, grazing his thumb along my cheek, and that one touch is enough to send a shiver of pleasure down my spine.
“I think you look really sexy holding a baby,” I blurt out like a dumbass.
He gives me one of his rare, full smiles, pairing it with his deep, sexy laugh, and the combination is downright stunning. I take a step back just to put some distance between us so I can get some air and clear my head, but he takes a step forward until I’m pressed against the doorframe. Bracing a hand above me, he leans down closer and sucks my bottom lip between his teeth, giving me a hard enough bite to pull a moan from me as I reach up and grasp the back of his neck.
“I’m glad you think I look good holding a baby,kiska, because with the amount of cum I’ve put inside you, it’s only a matter of time.” He places his hand on my lower belly in a possessive move that has me sucking in a quick breath. I look down at the splayed-out hand and then back up into his whiskey-colored eyes. “I said I wanted every inch of you, and I meant it. Every part of you will be mine, sweetheart, and that includes me laying claim to that little womb of yours.”
The wicked grin he gives me and the way his arm is still braced above me, keeping me in the shelter of his body, is making me feel like I’m overheating. “You’re too sexy for your own good, Volodya. It’s so unfair. I’ll never be able to win an argument because all you’ll have to do is give me that smile and act all alpha and I’ll turn into a puddle at your feet. My inner feminist is yelling at me to say something about thatclaiming my wombcomment, but I’m too busy trying not to spontaneously orgasm with your family right outside.”
